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Wada: "Japanese Games Industry Is A Closed Environment"

We've heard this refrain from Square-Enix before, and it's no surprise to hear it again a short time after the veteran RPG publisher acquires Tomb Raider publisher, Eidos.

According to a recent interview Square-Enix president Yoichi Wada recently gave The Financial Times, the boss said he believes Japanese developers focus too heavily on their own culture and in fact, they're often "xenophobic." He said that in the past decade, "the Japanese games industry has become a closed environment, with no new people coming in, no new ideas..." He also believes they're "slightly behind" their Western counterparts, which is part of the reason why they picked up Eidos; such foreign partnerships would be a "forward step." Perhaps most interesting is the statement Wada made concerning future acquisitions, as it appears they may wish to throw a bit more of their money around:

"The combination of Eidos and Square Enix gives us a good platform from which to expand. In that process, we might decide to acquire another company."

Based on his words, we can only assume that Square-Enix would purchase another Western publisher or developer, and they could be searching around even as we speak... And S-E isn't the only major Japanese company to voice their concerns regarding the Japanese gaming market and how it stacks up against the Western push. Perhaps everyone would benefit if they were all just one big happy family.